U.S. patent application number 14/018536 was filed with the patent office on 2014-10-30 for freight services marketplace system and methods.
This patent application is currently assigned to FREIGHTOPOLIS INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is FREIGHTOPOLIS INC.. Invention is credited to Eric Beckwitt, Jacob Pollak, Chaim Stern.
Application Number | 20140324633 14/018536 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51790071 |
Filed Date | 2014-10-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140324633 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pollak; Jacob ; et
al. |
October 30, 2014 |
FREIGHT SERVICES MARKETPLACE SYSTEM AND METHODS
Abstract
A computer system and associated methods for implementing an
online freight services marketplace. Freight service offerings
posted to the marketplace by carriers are matched to freight
service requests from shippers. Compound service offerings are
formed from freight service offerings having service parameters
(lane, space, transit time, availability, price, and status) that
accommodate load parameters (origin, destination, size, and weight)
of the freight service request. Compound service offerings selected
by the shipper are provisioned and reserved for subsequent
dispatch. Role-based access controls within the marketplace
restrict visibility of confidential information, such as carrier
pricing and shipper identity. Automatic freight transaction
facilitation includes shipper payment processing and shipping
document generation. Status tracking capability may be augmented
with alert messaging and/or in-transit re-planning to minimize the
impact of common issues that threaten to defeat a shipment in
progress.
Inventors: |
Pollak; Jacob; (Montreal,
CA) ; Stern; Chaim; (Montreal, CA) ; Beckwitt;
Eric; (Montreal, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FREIGHTOPOLIS INC. |
Montreal |
|
CA |
|
|
Assignee: |
FREIGHTOPOLIS INC.
Montreal
CA
|
Family ID: |
51790071 |
Appl. No.: |
14/018536 |
Filed: |
September 5, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61817392 |
Apr 30, 2013 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.63 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/083 20130101;
G06Q 30/0627 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/26.63 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/08 20060101
G06Q010/08; G06Q 30/06 20060101 G06Q030/06 |
Claims
1. A method of facilitating freight transactions comprising:
receiving at least one freight service offering from each of a
plurality of carriers using a website portal accessible from a
communications network, wherein each of the freight service
offerings is characterized by service parameters comprising a lane,
a space, a transit time, an availability, and a price; receiving a
freight service request from a shipper using the website portal,
wherein the freight service request is characterized by load
parameters comprising an origin, a destination, a size, and a
weight; generating a compound service offering comprising more than
one of the freight service offerings and having service parameters
that accommodate the load parameters of the freight service
request; receiving, from the shipper, a selected compound service
offering that is selected from the compound service offering
generated to accommodate the load parameters of the freight service
request; reserving the selected compound service offering; and
dispatching the selected compound service offering.
2. The method according to claim 1 wherein receiving at least one
freight service offering from each of the plurality of carriers
comprises: processing a carrier registration of each of the
plurality of carriers to access the website portal; verifying the
carrier registration of the each of the plurality of carriers upon
accessing the website portal; and restricting each of the plurality
of carriers from using the website portal to access confidential
carrier information, wherein confidential carrier information
comprises the price of the freight service offering of another of
the plurality of carriers.
3. The method according to claim 2 wherein receiving the freight
service request from the shipper comprises: processing a shipper
registration of the shipper to access the website portal; verifying
the registration of the shipper upon accessing the website portal;
and restricting each of the plurality of carriers from using the
website portal to access confidential shipper information, wherein
the confidential shipper information comprises a name of the
shipper.
4. The method according to claim 1 wherein generating the compound
service offering further comprises: identifying a combination of
the lanes of the freight service offerings included in the compound
service offering that accommodates the origin and the destination
of the freight service request; identifying the respective space of
each of the freight service offerings included in the compound
service offering that accommodates the size and the weight of the
freight service request; and identifying the respective
availability of each of the freight service offerings included in
the compound service offering is set to indicate that the freight
service offering is available for reservation.
5. The method according to claim 1 wherein generating the compound
service offering further comprises: generating a consolidated
freight service transit time defined as a combination of the
transit times of the freight service offerings included in the
compound service offering; and generating a consolidated freight
service price defined as a sum of the prices of the freight service
offerings included in the compound service offering.
6. The method according to claim 1 wherein receiving the selected
compound service offering further comprises setting the respective
availability of each of the freight service offerings included in
the selected compound service offering to indicate that freight
service offering is not available for reservation.
7. The method according to claim 5 wherein reserving the selected
compound service offering further comprises receiving an escrow
payment in the form of at least one of a system credit and a credit
card payment, wherein the escrow payment is computed as including
the consolidated freight service price for the selected compound
service offering.
8. The method according to claim 6 wherein the service parameters
of each of the plurality of freight service offerings further
comprise a status, and wherein dispatching the selected compound
service offering further comprises: monitoring the status of each
of the freight service offerings included in the selected compound
service offering, defined as a monitored service offering; and
sending an alert message to at least one of the shipper and the
carrier from which the monitored service offering was received,
wherein the alert message communicates the status of the monitored
service offering.
9. The method according to claim 6 wherein the service parameters
of each of the plurality of freight service offerings further
comprise a status, and wherein dispatching the selected compound
service offering further comprises: monitoring the status of each
of the freight service offerings included in the selected compound
service offering, defined as a monitored service offering;
identifying a freight service offering included in the monitored
service offering that has at least one service parameter that does
not accommodate the load parameters of the freight service request;
generating an alternative compound service offering comprising more
than one of the freight service offerings and having service
parameters that accommodate the load parameters of the freight
service request; reserving the alternative compound service
offering; dispatching the alternative compound service offering;
and sending an alert message to the carrier from which the
monitored service offering was received, wherein the alert message
communicates the status of the monitored service offering.
10. The method according to claim 7 wherein the service parameters
of each of the plurality of freight service offerings further
comprise a status, and wherein dispatching the selected compound
service offering further comprises: monitoring the status of each
of the freight service offerings included in the selected compound
service offering, defined as a monitored service offering;
identifying delivery completion defined as setting the respective
status of each of the freight service offerings in the monitored
service offering to indicate that the freight service offering in
the monitored service offering is complete; and remitting a service
payment to the carrier from which the monitored service was
received, wherein the service payment is computed as including the
price for the monitored service offering and is deducted from the
escrow payment.
11. A computer program product embodied in a computer-readable
storage medium for facilitating freight transactions comprising: a
data store, and a website portal accessible from a communications
network and in data communication with the data store, the website
portal configured to receive at least one freight service offering
from each of a plurality of carriers, wherein each of the freight
service offerings is characterized by service parameters comprising
a lane, a space, a transit time, an availability, and a price; save
the freight service offerings to the data store; receive a freight
service request from a shipper, wherein the freight service request
is characterized by load parameters comprising an origin, a
destination, a size, and a weight; generate a compound service
offering comprising more than one of the freight service offerings
and having service parameters that accommodate the load parameters
of the freight service request; receive, from the shipper, a
selected compound service offering that is selected from the
compound service offering generated to accommodate the load
parameters of the freight service request; reserve the selected
compound service offering; and dispatch the selected compound
service offering.
12. A computer program product according to claim 11 wherein the
website portal is further configured to process a carrier
registration of each of the plurality of carriers to access the
website portal; verify the carrier registration of the each of the
plurality of carriers upon accessing the website portal; and
restrict each of the plurality of carriers from using the website
portal to access confidential carrier information, wherein
confidential carrier information comprises the price of the freight
service offering of another of the plurality of carriers.
13. A computer program product according to claim 12 wherein the
website portal is further configured to process a shipper
registration of the shipper to access the website portal; verify
the registration of the shipper upon accessing the website portal;
and restrict each of the plurality of carriers from using the
website portal to access confidential shipper information, wherein
the confidential shipper information comprises a name of the
shipper.
14. A computer program product according to claim 11 wherein the
website portal is further configured to identify a combination of
the lanes of the freight service offerings included in the compound
service offering that accommodates the origin and the destination
of the freight service request; identify the respective space of
each of the freight service offerings included in the compound
service offering that accommodates the size and the weight of the
freight service request; and identify the respective availability
of each of the freight service offerings included in the compound
service offering is set to indicate that the freight service
offering is available for reservation.
15. A computer program product according to claim 11 wherein the
website portal is further configured to generate a consolidated
freight service transit time defined as a combination of the
transit times of the freight service offerings included in the
compound service offering; and generate a consolidated freight
service price defined as a sum of the prices of the freight service
offerings included in the compound service offering.
16. A computer program product according to claim 11 wherein the
website portal is further configured to set the respective
availability of each of the freight service offerings included in
the selected compound service offering to indicate that freight
service offering is not available for reservation.
17. A computer program product according to claim 15 wherein the
website portal is further configured to receive an escrow payment
in the form of at least one of a system credit and a credit card
payment, wherein the escrow payment is computed as including the
consolidated freight service price for the selected compound
service offering.
18. A computer program product according to claim 16 wherein the
service parameters of each of the plurality of freight service
offerings further comprise a status; and wherein the website portal
is further configured to monitoring the status of each of the
freight service offerings included in the selected compound service
offering, defined as a monitored service offering; and sending an
alert message to at least one of the shipper and the carrier from
which the monitored service offering was received, wherein the
alert message communicates the status of the monitored service
offering.
19. A computer program product according to claim 16 wherein the
service parameters of each of the plurality of freight service
offerings further comprise a status; and wherein the website portal
is further configured to monitor the status of each of the freight
service offerings included in the selected compound service
offering, defined as a monitored service offering; identify a
freight service offering included in the monitored service offering
that has at least one service parameter that does not accommodate
the load parameters of the freight service request; generate an
alternative compound service offering comprising more than one of
the freight service offerings and having service parameters that
accommodate the load parameters of the freight service request;
reserve the alternative compound service offering; dispatch the
alternative compound service offering; and send an alert message to
the carrier from which the monitored service offering was received,
wherein the alert message communicates the status of the monitored
service offering.
20. A computer program product according to claim 17 wherein the
service parameters of each of the plurality of freight service
offerings further comprise a status; and wherein the website portal
is further configured to monitor the status of each of the freight
service offerings included in the selected compound service
offering, defined as a monitored service offering; identify
delivery completion defined as setting the respective status of
each of the freight service offerings in the monitored service
offering to indicate that the freight service offering in the
monitored service offering is complete; and remit a service payment
to the carrier from which the monitored service was received,
wherein the service payment is computed as including the price for
the monitored service offering and is deducted from the escrow
payment.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit Under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
61/817,392 filed on Apr. 30, 2013 and titled System For Providing
Freight Data, Vehicle Availability And Quotes, the entire contents
of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to the field of freight
transport and, more specifically, to facilitation of freight
transport transactions using a communications network, and
associated systems and methods.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The global freight transport industry is large and complex,
comprising hundreds of thousands of transport companies serving
millions of shipping customers each year. Freight service
transactions typically involve actors in three basic roles:
carriers, shippers, and brokers. Carriers provide transport assets
and associated support, and the business model of each carrier may
be characterized by unique service routes, availability schedules,
and offering prices. Freight to be moved is specified by shippers,
each of whom may be an owner of the freight or an agent operating
in support of another freight owner. A freight broker provides the
fee-based service of helping a shipper identify a carrier capable
of satisfying the freight service requirements of the shipper.
[0004] The freight broker adds value to a particular freight
service transaction through his knowledge of the assets, routes,
availabilities, and prices of local carriers. Currently, the broker
draws most of this information about carrier capability either from
load matching software or from the broker's experience-based
insight into which carrier is likely service candidate in a given
set of circumstances. No existing matching software allows freight
brokers or shippers to know if the carriers' equipment is
guaranteed available. Instead, current matching software can, at
best, identify a given carrier asset as "probably available," and
with no accompanying indication of the space, weight, pricing, and
transit time characteristics of the asset of interest. As the
shipping industry experiences explosive growth, freight service
transaction processes that are dependent on industry knowledge and
human intervention are increasingly becoming unmanageable.
[0005] Various approaches exist in the freight industry for
allowing shippers to book freight services with carriers with less
reliance on broker knowledge and manual processes. For example,
Freightquote.com.RTM. and FreightCenter.com.RTM. are two of the
best known online freight quoting systems in North America. But
these and similar online systems work only with carriers that have
price data that are stored in existing databases and/or are
available via automated programming interface (API). This design
limitation in these online systems limits their utility to only
with largest carriers (comprising only about 17 common carriers out
of approximately 200,000 carrier companies). No quoting software
used to match carriers to shippers gives access to smaller carriers
who do not employ large infrastructures and databases to post their
prices, availabilities, and transit times (PATT) online.
[0006] Contributing to the proliferation of proprietary quoting
systems and to the exclusive nature of commercially available
quoting systems is the fact that carriers carefully guard their
prices for competitive reasons. Carriers typically refuse to post
pricing information in any system where that information
potentially could be viewed by competitors. Instead, carriers often
choose to maintain stovepiped systems that may automate freight
service booking and shipment status tracking for a particular
carrier, but that do not support direct communication between
multiple carriers and/or between carriers and shippers.
[0007] Furthermore, the lack of integration between
carrier-specific systems leads to manual labor and call time
involving the actors involved in a typical freight transaction.
Current matching software typically burdens carriers, brokers, and
shippers to repeatedly telephone and e-mail each other to sort out
service information and to book the loads. Similarly, freight
brokers and/or shippers who make use of their own databases of
carriers to keep abreast of pricing, availability, and transit
times still find booking of loads to be very time consuming due to
the amount of paperwork that must change hands manually either by
fax or by email. Such manual processes are unreliable because
costly mistakes often happen when human intervention is built into
the confirmation loop.
[0008] The freight transport industry is experiencing advancements
in automated generation of shipping quotes. Some of these
techniques may be applicable to certain aspects of facilitating
freight transport transactions.
[0009] U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2011/0246384 by
Bennett et al. discloses a solution for online, multi-parcel,
multi-carrier, multi-service enterprise parcel shipping management.
However, the Bennett application does not disclose freight handling
with specificity. Also, Bennett is directed to traditional shipment
of packages by a single retail carrier (e.g., UPS.RTM.,
FedEx.RTM.), rather than engagement of multiple carriers in
collaboration to deliver a single freight shipment service within a
shipper's cost and schedule requirements.
[0010] U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2012/0036072 by Riggs
et al. discloses a fully-integrated logistics system operated by a
third party intermediary for transport of goods from multiple
different shippers by multiple different carriers. This networked
logistics system operates across all modes of transport (i.e.,
truck, rail, containership, bulk tanker, and air). However, the
Riggs solution presumes human-in-the-loop (that is, third party
intermediary) facilitation of negotiations between the shipper and
the carriers/logistics suppliers.
[0011] U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2005/0021346 by Nadan
et al. discloses a solution that aggregates shipping demand and
carrier capacity by treating both shipper loads and carrier assets
as fungible transportation instruments (e.g., in fulfilling a
freight service obligation, one shipment may be substituted for
another and/or one truck may be substituted for another). However,
the Nadan solution is not fully automated in that it relies on
human staff members to manage operational problems that routinely
surface between pickup and delivery. Also, the Nadan disclosure
limits the minimal unit of carrier asset space to be equal to 1/4
of a truck.
[0012] U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2003/0200111 by Damji
discloses an automated process for determining the optimal method
and cost of packaging and shipping goods of given order within a
required timeframe. However, the Damji solution is limited to the
problem of accurately quoting shipping costs prior to a shipper and
a carrier(s) consummating a freight service transaction. The Damji
disclosure is silent on managing operational problems that may
surface between pickup and delivery.
[0013] U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2001/0047284 by
Blalock et al. discloses a method and system for negotiation of
transportation contracts between shippers and carriers, as
implemented over a computer network. A carrier may view a request
for proposal (RFQ) posted by a seller, and may identify the lanes
the carrier would like to bid on. However, this auction-style
bidding system does not disclose a marketplace of predefined
freight service offerings offered by multiple carriers that a
shipper may search for a requirements match.
[0014] There exists a need for a computerized product and process
for an online marketplace for real-time reservation of space
available on the transport assets of freight carriers. More
specifically, a need exists for a highly secure, standardized,
central repository that shippers may query for real-time price,
availability, and transit times. Also, a need exists for automated
communication between shippers and freight carriers without the
need for human intervention during the quoting, booking, pickup,
transportation, and delivery phases of the freight shipment
process. Additionally, a need exists for automation of the time
consuming process of preparing bills of lading, custom documents,
and invoices. These, and other features of a freight services
marketplace are not present in the prior art.
[0015] This background information is provided to reveal
information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance
to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor
should be construed, that any of the preceding information
constitutes prior art against the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] With the above in mind, embodiments of the present invention
are directed to a system and methods for implementing a freight
services marketplace.
[0017] The present invention may be configured to allow freight
carriers to post their shipping inventories for sale online for
selection by freight shippers. The present invention also may
seamlessly provide a single quote to a shipper for a combination of
freight offerings provided by multiple carriers. The present
invention also may coordinate the passing of a load between
multiple carriers, as necessary, to achieve the delivery of the
load at a price and a transit time that are acceptable to the
shipper. The present invention may allow shippers to query only
those freight service offerings for which the advertised shipping
asset is available, and to advantageously book freight services
online.
[0018] The present invention may be configured to advantageously
allow freight carriers that have no existing digital price data to
quickly and efficiently summarize their complex routes and to store
those data in a centralized, secure location that is searchable by
shippers. The present invention may service not only large common
carriers but also small regional freight companies, thereby
advantageously providing these small companies the ability to
compete to service specific lanes. The present invention also may
be configured to advantageously limit access to prices only to
verified shippers, and to prevent carriers from viewing the prices
and other confidential business information of competing
carriers.
[0019] The present invention also may be configured to
automatically generate, save, and transmit Bills of Lading and
common industry-specific shipping documents required to provision a
freight service. The present invention also may be configured to
automatically transmit status alert updates to carriers and/or
shippers while a shipment is in transit. The present invention also
may be configured to alert shippers and/or carriers of common
transit problems as they arise. The present invention also may be
configured to advantageously handle common transit issues
automatically without requiring manual intervention from carriers
and/or shippers. More specifically, the present invention may be
configured to transfer a load from one carrier to another in
response to a transit issue that threatens to defeat a shipment in
progress.
[0020] The freight services marketplace according to embodiments of
the present invention may be configured as a computer program
product that may include a website portal that may be accessible
from a communications network and that may be in data communication
with a data store. The computer program product may implement a
method of facilitating freight transactions that may include the
steps of receiving freight service offerings from any number of
carriers, receiving a freight service request from a shipper, and
combining more than one of the freight service offerings to
generate a compound service offering. The method of facilitating
freight transactions may further include the steps of receiving a
compound service offering selection from the shipper, reserving the
selected compound service offering, and dispatching the selected
compound service offering to satisfy the freight service
request.
[0021] Each of the freight service offerings may be characterized
by service parameters that may include a lane, a space, a price, an
availability, a transit time, and a status. The freight service
request may be characterized by load parameters that may include an
origin, a destination, a size, and a weight. The compound service
offering may be characterized by service parameters that
accommodate the load parameters of the freight service request.
[0022] To facilitate receipt of freight service offerings from
carriers, access the website portal may be controlled by processing
a carrier registration for each carrier, verifying the carrier
registration upon the carrier accessing the website portal, and
restricting each carrier from accessing the confidential carrier
information of other carriers, including the price of competing
freight service offerings. To facilitate receipt of the freight
service request from the shipper, access the website portal may be
controlled by processing a shipper registration for the shipper,
verifying the shipper registration upon the shipper accessing the
website portal, and restricting the carriers from accessing
confidential shipper information, including the name of the
shipper.
[0023] Generating the compound service offering may include the
steps of identifying a combination of the lanes of the freight
service offerings that accommodates the origin and the destination
of the freight service request, identifying space in each of the
freight service offerings that accommodates the size and the weight
of the freight service request, and identifying that each of the
freight service offerings is available for reservation. Compound
service offering generation may also include the steps of combining
the transit times of the freight service offerings included in the
compound service offering, and summing the prices of the freight
service offerings included in the compound service offering.
[0024] To facilitate reservation of the selected compound service
offering, the method may include the step of receiving an escrow
payment from the shipper. Escrow payment may be in the form of a
system credit and/or a credit card payment. Upon receipt of the
selected compound service offering, the reservation step may
include setting indicators signifying that each of the included
freight service offerings is no longer available.
[0025] The method of dispatching the selected compound service
offering may include the steps of monitoring the status of each of
the freight service offerings, and sending an alert message to the
shipper and/or the carrier to communicate the status of each
monitored service offering. Identification of a monitored service
offering having at least one service parameter that does not
accommodate the load parameters of the freight service request may
trigger the steps of generating an alternative compound service
offering to replace the monitored service, reserving the
alternative compound service offering, and dispatching the
alternative compound service offering. The method of facilitating
freight transactions may further include the steps of identifying
delivery completion, and remitting a service payment to the carrier
from which the monitored service was received.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a freight services
marketplace system according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0027] FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating exemplary data structures
of the freight services marketplace system depicted in FIG. 1.
[0028] FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating exemplary fields of the
freight service offering data structures depicted in FIG. 2A.
[0029] FIG. 3A is a flow chart illustrating a method of user
account creation as used in connection with a freight services
marketplace system according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0030] FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating exemplary carrier account
access permissions as used in connection with a freight services
marketplace system according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0031] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method of freight
service offering data entry as used in connection with a freight
services marketplace system according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0032] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method of managing
posting of freight service offerings as used in connection with a
freight services marketplace system according to an embodiment of
the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system
interface for freight service offering data entry as used in
connection with a freight services marketplace system according to
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0034] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system
interface for freight service offering data entry as used in
connection with a freight services marketplace system according to
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0035] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method of freight
service request data entry as used in connection with a freight
services marketplace system according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0036] FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system
interface for freight service request data entry as used in
connection with a freight services marketplace system according to
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0037] FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system
interface for freight service request data entry as used in
connection with a freight services marketplace system according to
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0038] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method of freight
service booking as used in connection with a freight services
marketplace system according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0039] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system
interface for freight service booking data entry as used in
connection with a freight services marketplace system according to
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0040] FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method of freight
service dispatch management as used in connection with a freight
services marketplace system according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0041] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system
interface for freight service dispatch management as used in
connection with a freight services marketplace system according to
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0042] FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a method in-transit
freight service re-planning as used in connection with a freight
services marketplace system according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0043] FIG. 14 is a block diagram representation of a machine in
the example form of a computer system according to an embodiment of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0044] The present invention will now be described more fully
hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention
may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be
construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather,
these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be
thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the
invention to those skilled in the art. Those of ordinary skill in
the art realize that the following descriptions of the embodiments
of the present invention are illustrative and are not intended to
be limiting in any way. Other embodiments of the present invention
will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the
benefit of this disclosure.
[0045] Although the following detailed description contains many
specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone of ordinary
skill in the art will appreciate that many variations and
alterations to the following details are within the scope of the
invention. Accordingly, the following embodiments of the invention
are set forth without any loss of generality to, and without
imposing limitations upon, the claimed invention.
[0046] In this detailed description of the present invention, a
person skilled in the art should note that directional terms, such
as "above," "below," "upper," "lower," and other like terms are
used for the convenience of the reader in reference to the
drawings. Also, a person skilled in the art should notice this
description may contain other terminology to convey position,
orientation, and direction without departing from the principles of
the present invention. Like numbers refer to like elements
throughout.
[0047] The terms "generally" and "substantially" may be used
throughout the application. "Generally" may be understood to mean
approximately, about, or otherwise similar in content or value.
"Substantially" may be understood to mean mostly, more than not, or
approximately greater than half. The meanings of these terms must
be interpreted in light of the context in which they are used, with
additional meanings being potentially discernible therefrom.
[0048] Throughout this disclosure, the present invention may be
referred to as a freight services marketplace system, a quoting
system, a scheduling system, a freight system, a freight service
system, a computer program product, a computer program, a product,
a system, a device, and a method. Furthermore, the present
invention may be referred to as relating to freight transport using
trucks. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this
terminology does not affect the scope of the invention. For
instance, the present invention may just as easily relate to
freight assets used to transport by road, rail, air, and/or water
lanes.
[0049] Other industry-specific terms that may be pertinent to this
disclosure include the following:
[0050] Skid--a flat base on which goods can be stacked for easy
handling
[0051] Palletized--freight loaded on skids
[0052] Floor Load--freight loaded without skids on the floor of a
trailer
[0053] Full Truck Load (FTL)--per-asset pricing (based on full
capacity)
[0054] Less Than Load (LTL)--per-skid pricing (based on subset of
capacity)
[0055] Both--shipper requirements determine FTL or LTL
[0056] Unlimited LTL--per-skid pricing, with no limit on the total
number of skids and maximum weight
[0057] Example systems and methods for a freight services
marketplace are described herein below. In the following
description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details
are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of example
embodiments. It will be evident, however, to one of ordinary skill
in the art that the present invention may be practiced without
these specific details and/or with different combinations of the
details than are given here. Thus, specific embodiments are given
for the purpose of simplified explanation and not limitation.
System Architecture
[0058] Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 14, a freight services
marketplace system 100 configured to facilitate freight services
transactions and to track freight service delivery will now be
discussed.
[0059] Referring more specifically to FIG. 1, the freight services
marketplace system 100, according to an embodiment of the present
invention, may include a web server 101, which may be coupled to at
least one shipper client 110 and at least one carrier client 120.
Each shipper client 110 and each carrier client 120 may be coupled
to the web server 101 using a wide area network 107 such as the
Internet. For example, and without limitation, the web server 101,
shipper clients 110, and carrier clients 120 also may have access
to various third-party freight service information sources via the
Internet 107. Third-party freight service information sources, for
example, and without limitation, may include
commercial-off-the-shelf applications (for example, and without
limitation, routing, mileage, and mapping software) and proprietary
applications (for example, and without limitation, dispatching
software maintained internally by a given carrier).
[0060] Shipper clients 110 and carrier clients 120 each may
comprise a web browser and a communication application. "Web
browser" as used herein includes, but is not limited to, any
application software or program (including mobile applications)
designed to enable users to access, retrieve, and view documents
and other digital content over a wide network such as the Internet.
"Communication" as used herein includes, but is not limited to,
electronic mail (email), instant messaging, mobile applications,
personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a fax, a cellular
telephone, a conventional telephone, television, video telephone
conferencing display, other types of radio wave
transmitter/transponders and other forms of electronic
communication. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other
forms of communication known in the art are within the spirit and
scope of the present invention.
[0061] Users of a shipper client 110 may be prospective shipping
service consumers. For example, and without limitation, consumers
who may make use of the freight service marketplace system 100
through their shipper clients 110 may include any company or
individual purchasing space on a transport asset, as well as
associated support and handling services, for purposes of shipping
freight. Also for example and without limitation, consumers may
include brokers and/or any individuals desiring to book freight
shipment space and support services on behalf of others. Users of a
carrier client 120 may include providers of any type of shipping
asset (e.g., a truck) that may be hired out or conscripted for any
private or public purpose (freight shipping, humanitarian
evacuation, and/or emergency services).
[0062] Continuing to refer to FIG. 1, the web server 101 may
comprise a processor 102 that may accept and execute computerized
instructions, and also a data store 103 which may store data and
instructions used by the processor 102. More specifically, the
processor 102 may be configured to receive input from some number
of shipper clients 110, carrier clients 120, and third-party
freight service information sources (not shown) and to direct that
input to the data store 103 for storage and subsequent retrieval.
For example, and without limitation, the processor 102 may be in
data communication with external computing resources 110, 120
through a direct connection and/or through a network connection 107
facilitated by a network interface 106. Also for example, and
without limitation, the data store 103 may comprise multiple data
stores hosted either locally on the web server 101, and/or remotely
on a data server 108.
[0063] Matching engine instructions 104 may be stored in data store
103 and retrieved by the processor 102 for execution. The matching
engine 104 may be configured to advantageously automate the capture
of a freight service request from a shipper, the entry of freight
service offerings from one or more carriers, and the presentation
of combined freight service quotes for selection by the shipper.
Dispatch engine instructions 105 also may be stored in data store
103 and retrieved by the processor 102 for execution. The dispatch
engine 104 may advantageously automate transaction processing,
including notification of quote acceptance, shipper payment
processing, and carrier service rating.
[0064] Those skilled in the art will appreciate, however, that the
present invention contemplates the use of computer instructions
that may perform any or all of the operations involved in
delivering freight shipping services, including capacity
management, price quotation, reservation handling, service delivery
tracking, payment processing, and issue resolution. The disclosure
of computer instructions that include matching engine instructions
and dispatch engine instructions is not meant to be limiting in any
way. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that stored
computer instructions may be configured in any way while still
accomplishing the many goals, features and advantages according to
the present invention.
[0065] Continuing to refer to FIG. 1, and referring additionally to
FIG. 2A, the processor 102 on the web server 101 may write to the
data store 103 on the data server 108 carrier-specified information
about the availability of freight service offerings, and may
retrieve from the data store 103 that information that is pertinent
to requirements in a shipper-specified freight service request.
Such information may be stored in one or more data structures 130.
For example, and without limitation, the matching engine 104 may
obtain from the data structure 130 freight service offering
information 210 regarding shipping assets and corresponding
carriers. Although the data structure 130 shown illustrates
information that may be written to and/or retrieved from the data
store 103 on the data server 108, employment of networking may
permit the freight services marketplace system 100 to retrieve
information about freight services from third-party information
sources, thereby enhancing the timeliness and completeness of data
used by the system.
[0066] The illustrated embodiment of freight service data
structures 130 shows example data objects 220 that may be pertinent
to satisfying the freight service requirements of a prospective
shipper. Although the embodiment of the invention discussed herein
describes the data storage and retrieval functionality performed by
the matching engine 104 and/or the dispatch engine 105, those
skilled in the art will readily appreciate that stored computer
instructions and data objects may be configured in any way while
still accomplishing the many goals, features and advantages
according to the present invention.
[0067] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2A, the data structure for a
freight service offering 210 will now be discussed. A freight asset
may be defined as any shipping service unit that may be marketed
individually by a carrier. Asset information may comprise a unique
identifier (e.g., freight code). Information regarding the carrier
providing the asset also may be included in the asset data
structure 210. For example, and without limitation, carrier contact
information may include the name of the carrier, an email address,
a telephone number, a mailing address, and/or any other type of
communication address.
[0068] For purposes of definition, the fundamental record defining
the inventory of a shipper is a lane. This individually billable
unit may be characterized by a set of service parameters. More
specifically, a freight service offering data structure 210 may
comprise a set of service parameters which may include
characteristics such as lane, space, price, availability, transit
time, and status. For example, and without limitation, each portion
of floor or rack space present on a freight asset that may be
offered individually for lease may be characterized as a lane. The
freight service offering data structure 210 may comprise
information regarding the configuration of the space, such as
physical dimensions (e.g., length, width, and height) and weight
limitations. The transit time for the lane may comprise information
about the scheduled movement of the freight asset from one location
to another. For example, and without limitation, location may be
expressed in terms of a loading facility, a city, a region, or a
range (e.g., miles or travel time). Also for example, and without
limitation, the scheduled movement of the asset may be expressed as
a day of the week for freight pickup and a day of the week for
freight delivery. Calculation of transit time as a function of
pickup and delivery days of the week, rather than as absolute days
travel time, may remove ambiguity regarding the number of days in
the future a particular load may be delivered.
[0069] Each lane also may be characterized by its offering price.
In one embodiment, the web server 101 may receive information on
pricing of freight service offering from the carrier that owns the
associated asset, and may write that information to the freight
service offering data structure 210 on the data store 103. In
another embodiment, the matching engine 104 may obtain from freight
service offering data structure 210 information regarding the
historical price charged by a particular carrier for services like
those requested by the shipper. In yet another example, discounting
factors may also be included in the pricing criteria stored in the
freight service offering data structure 210. Each lane also may be
characterized by its projected availability on a given date, and
its in-transit status at any given moment. For example, and without
limitation, FIG. 2B illustrates one embodiment of the set of
service parameters that may be populated for a freight service
offering 210.
[0070] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2A, the data structure for a
freight service request 220 will now be discussed. The freight
service request may specify shipper requirements for freight
shipment. For example, and without limitation, the freight service
request may characterize the needs of the shipper to move a load
from one location to another. Also for example, and without
limitation, the freight service request may specify more than one
leg as included in the required service. Request information may
comprise a unique identifier (e.g., solicitation ID). Information
regarding the shipper making the request also may be included in
the request data structure 220. For example, and without
limitation, shipper contact information may include the name of the
shipper, an email address, a telephone number, a mailing address,
and/or any other type of communication address. The freight service
request data structure 220 may list the desired origin and
destination locations, the size and weight of the load. The freight
service request 220 also may include the required dates of
shipment, any associated services such as load handling and
transfers, and a deadline for receiving reservation confirmations
from prospective freight carriers.
[0071] Those skilled in the art will appreciate, however, that the
present invention contemplates the use of data structures that may
store information supporting any or all of the operations involved
in delivering freight shipping services, including capacity
management, price quotation, reservation handling, service delivery
tracking, payment processing, and issue resolution. The disclosure
of data structures that include asset characteristics and pricing
criteria is not meant to be limiting in any way. Those skilled in
the art will readily appreciate that data structures may be
configured in any way while still accomplishing the many goals,
features and advantages according to the present invention.
Carrier Data Entry
[0072] Referring now to FIGS. 3A, 4, 5, 6A, and 6B, and continuing
to refer to FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, a method aspect for entering
carrier data into the freight services marketplace system 100,
according to an embodiment of the present invention, will now be
discussed. In the methods illustrated herein, the carrier may use
the carrier client 110 to interact with the web server 101. The
following illustrative embodiment is included to provide clarity
for certain operational methods that may be included within the
scope of the present invention. A person of skill in the art will
appreciate additional databases and operations that may be included
within the freight services marketplace system 100 of the present
invention, which are intended to be included herein and without
limitation.
[0073] Referring now to FIG. 3A, and continuing to refer to FIGS.
1, 2A, and 2B, a method aspect 300 for creating a user account for
the carrier in the freight services marketplace system 100 will now
be discussed in detail. The carrier may use an account creation
interface on the carrier client 120 to request a carrier account
and to submit self-identifying information through a network 107 to
the web server's network interface 106. For example and without
limitation, the account creation interface may be in the form of a
web-based application accessible through a web browser on the
carrier client 120. The processor 102 may route the carrier account
creation information to the data store 103. As illustrated in FIG.
1, the data store 103 may be located on the web server 101 and/or
on the data server 108.
[0074] From the beginning at Block 305, the system 100 may receive
from the carrier an account creation request (Block 310). An
appropriately-privileged administrator of account requests may use
this information received by the system 100 to verify the role of
the requestor in the shipping industry. For example, and without
limitation, if the requestor cannot be identified as either a
shipper (Block 325) or a carrier (Block 345), then the account
creation request may be denied (Block 350) and the process ends
(Block 375).
[0075] If the account administrator can identify the requestor as a
carrier (Block 345), then the system 100 may allow creation of the
carrier account and may set access permissions to limit the account
holder to access information on the system 100 on a need-to-know
basis (Block 360). For example, and without limitation, access
controls may permit any pricing data stored by a carrier to be
viewable by prospective customers who are shippers, but not by
another carrier account holder. Such access controls may
advantageously allow multiple carriers to sell their respective
freight service offerings using the freight services marketplace
system 100 without exposing confidential business information, such
as pricing, to competitors. Also for example, and without
limitation, role based access controls may privilege carrier
account holders to invoke only those functions within the freight
services marketplace system 100 for which the account of the user
is approved (example roles and associated privileges are
illustrated in FIG. 3B).
[0076] Referring now to FIG. 4, and continuing to refer to FIGS. 1,
2A, and 2B, a method aspect 400 for entering freight service
offering information into the freight services marketplace system
100 will now be discussed in detail. More specifically, the entry
of freight service offering parameters 210 from the carrier client
120 will now be discussed. The carrier may use a freight service
creation interface on the carrier client 120 to instantiate a
freight service offering data structure 210 and to transmit service
parameters for that offering through a network 107 to the web
server's network interface 106. For example and without limitation,
the freight service creation interface may be in the form of a
web-based application accessible through a web browser on the
carrier client 120. The processor 102 may route the freight service
offering information to the data store 103 on the data server
108.
[0077] At Block 410, the system 100 may receive from the carrier a
lane type for the freight service offering 210. For example, and
without limitation, the freight service offering may be
characterized as a full truck load (FTL), as less than a truck load
(LTL), as Both, or as Unlimited LTL. For definition purposes, a
lane type of Both may signify that a carrier reserves the lane
while deferring the decision as to whether the lane is FTL or LTL
until shipper interest can be determined. For purposes of this
disclosure, Both may be classified as a special case of LTL. Also
for definition purposes, a lane type of Unlimited LTL may signify
no limit may exist for the number of skids being marketed by the
carrier. Unlimited LTL may be classified as a special case of LTL,
and typically may be employed by medium or large carriers who are
equipped to offer large shipping capacities to their customers.
[0078] If the lane type is not recognized at Block 415 as LTL
(inclusive of the special cases of Both and Unlimited LTL) nor at
Block 425 as FTL, then a data entry error may be flagged for the
carrier by the system 100 (Block 490) and control may return to the
beginning (Block 405) to allow the carrier to reenter the desired
lane type correctly.
[0079] If, at Block 415, the lane type is recognized as LTL (or
either of the special cases of Both or Unlimited LTL), then the
system 100 may prompt the carrier to enter service parameters for a
master lane and for a number of sub-pickups and sub-deliveries that
may be included in the lane (Block 480). For purposes of
definition, the term master lane refers to the core description of
a lane. A sub-pick up or sub-delivery is a point outside of the
radius covered by the master lane. For example, and without
limitation, a lane may be from Chicago to Montreal with several
sub-pickups and several sub-deliveries at intermediate locations
generally along the route between the two cities. At Block 482, the
carrier may enter into the system 100 additional service parameters
for the freight service offering 210. As illustrated in FIG. 2B,
the service parameters of interest may include those which can be
used to match the requirements of a subsequently entered freight
service request 220 such as, for example, and without limitation,
pickup and delivery information (locations), skid space (including
dimensions and weight allowance), availability, and transit time.
At Block 484, the system 100 may generate a custom pricing grid for
the master lane to facilitate the subsequent entry of pricing
parameters for each sub-pickup/sub-delivery pair (Block 486) that
the carrier may wish to offer for sale on the freight service
marketplace system 100. As illustrated at Block 488, the carrier
also may have the option to enter pricing parameters for special
services related to a shipment, such as packaging, inspection, and
other handling.
[0080] Referring again to FIG. 4 at Block 425, if the lane type is
determined to be FTL, then the system 100 may prompt the carrier to
enter service parameters for the master lane for the asset (Block
430). The master lane may be marketed as all available space
comprising a shipping asset, and servicing pickup and delivery
along a given transit route of the asset. As illustrated in FIGS.
2A and 2B, the service parameters of interest may include those
which can be used to match the requirements of a subsequently
entered freight service request 220 such as, for example, and
without limitation, pickup and delivery information (locations),
total trailer space (including dimensions and weight allowance),
availability, and transit time.
[0081] If the carrier chooses to price the FTL freight service
offering on a fixed cost model (Block 435), then the system 100 may
receive a pricing parameter for the master lane (Block 450) that
the carrier may wish to market on the freight service marketplace
system 100. Alternatively, if the carrier chooses to price the
freight service offering by the mile (Block 445), the system 100
may calculate the price of the freight service offering as a
function of a pickup-to-delivery distance and a price-per-mile,
both of which may be entered by the carrier (Block 470).
[0082] After pricing is complete either for an FTL offering (Block
450) or for an LTL or special case LTL offering (Block 488), the
carrier may post the freight service offerings in the freight
service marketplace system 100 as described below in more detail
(Block 460) before the process may end at Block 499.
[0083] Referring now to FIG. 5, and continuing to refer to FIGS. 1,
2A, and 2B, a method aspect for posting a freight service offering
schedule in the freight services marketplace system 100 will now be
discussed in detail. Using the freight service offering data entry
interface, posting of an FTL lane by a carrier may cause the
process to begin at Block 501. The system 100 may receive from the
carrier a posting option for the master lane (Block 510). For
example, and without limitation, the available posting options may
include manual (e.g., the lane may be posted on one specific day),
daily (e.g., the lane may operate five days per week), and weekly
(e.g., the lane may be posted on specific days during the week). At
Block 520, the system 100 may receive a schedule for the master
lane. For example, and without limitation, the carrier may enter
specific pickup and delivery days (typically Monday through Friday)
for the lane during the designated posting period (e.g., Thursdays
of every week).
[0084] In another embodiment, posting of an LTL lane (or a special
case of LTL) by a carrier may cause the process to begin at Block
502. The system 100 may receive from the carrier a posting option
for the master lane and/or sub-pickups and sub-deliveries (Block
530). For example, and without limitation, the available posting
options may include manual (e.g., the lane and/or sub-pickups and
sub-deliveries may be posted on one specific day), daily (e.g., the
lane and/or sub-pickups and sub-deliveries may operate five days
per week), and weekly (e.g., the lane and/or sub-pickups and
sub-deliveries may be posted on specific days during the week). In
addition, for LTL lanes that require more than one day to fill a
freight asset, a weekly multi-day pickup may be used to spread the
master lane pick up over multiple days. Note that this option may
not be available for sub pick-ups. At Block 540, the system 100 may
receive a schedule for the master lane and/or sub-pickups and
sub-deliveries. For example, and without limitation, the carrier
may enter specific pickup and delivery days for the lane and/or for
sub-pickups and sub-deliveries during the designated posting
period.
[0085] Continuing to refer to FIG. 5, the system 100 may prompt the
carrier to save the entered freight service offering information
(Block 545). Saving the draft of the freight service offering data
to the data store 103 on the data server 108 may record the service
parameter selections for subsequent editing (Block 550). If the
carrier opts not to save a draft at Block 545, then the freight
service offering data entry may be lost and the data entry process
may end at Block 599.
[0086] At Block 555, the system 100 may prompt the carrier to post
the previously saved freight service offering for marketing to
prospective customers. The carrier may elect to generate searchable
lanes and/or sub-pickups and sub-deliveries (if any) for posting to
the freight services marketplace (Block 560). Alternative, the
carrier may elect not to post the offering to the freight services
marketplace, opting instead to hide the draft offering from view of
prospective customers and allowing the data entry process to end at
Block 599.
[0087] For example, and without limitation, FIG. 6A illustrates one
embodiment of a system interface 601 to allow carrier creation of a
freight service offering 210 of the LTL type. The system interface
601 may present displays for user entry of lane information 602,
pickup information 603, delivery information 604, pricing options
605, and posting options 606 in keeping with the LTL data entry
method described above.
[0088] Also for example, and without limitation, FIG. 6B
illustrates one embodiment of a system interface 611 to allow
carrier creation of a freight service offering 210 of the FTL type.
The system interface 611 may present displays for user entry of
lane information 612, pickup information 613, delivery information
614, pricing options 615, and posting options 616 in keeping with
the FTL data entry method described above.
Shipper Data Entry
[0089] Referring now to FIGS. 3A, 7, and 8, and continuing to refer
to FIGS. 1 and 2A, a method aspect for entering shipper data into
the freight services marketplace system 100, according to an
embodiment of the present invention, will now be discussed. In the
methods as illustrated herein, the carrier may use the shipper
client 110 to interact with the web server 101. The following
illustrative embodiment is included to provide clarity for certain
operational methods that may be included within the scope of the
present invention. A person of skill in the art will appreciate
additional databases and operations that may be included within the
freight services marketplace system 100 of the present invention,
which are intended to be included herein and without
limitation.
[0090] Referring again to FIG. 3A, and continuing to refer to FIGS.
1 and 2A, a method aspect 300 for creating a user account for a
shipper in the freight services marketplace system 100 will now be
discussed in detail. The shipper may use the account creation
interface on the shipper client 110 to request a shipper account
and to submit self-identifying information through a network 107 to
the web server's network interface 106. For example and without
limitation, the account creation interface may be in the form of a
web-based application accessible through a web browser on the
shipper client 110. The processor 102 may route the account
creation information to the data store 103. As illustrated in FIG.
1, the data store 103 may be located on the web server 101 and/or
on the data server 108.
[0091] At Block 310, the system 100 may receive from the shipper an
account creation request. An appropriately-privileged administrator
of account requests may use information captured by the system 100
to verify the role of the requestor in the shipping industry (Block
320). If the account administrator can identify the requestor as a
shipper (Block 325), then the system may allow creation of the
shipper account with preset access permissions to limit the account
holder to access information on the system 100 on a standard,
restricted basis (Block 330). For example, and without limitation,
access controls may limit any identifying data stored by the
shipper to not be viewable by soliciting carrier account holders.
Such access controls may advantageously allow shippers to shop
available freight service offerings using the freight services
marketplace system 100 without exposing confidential customer data,
such as contact information, to solicitors. Role based access
controls also may privilege shipper account holders to invoke only
those functions within the freight services marketplace system 100
for which the account of the user is approved. For example, and
without limitation, a master account holder may be privileged to
edit any information associated with a shipper account, including
company contact and credit information. An operational account
holder, defined as a Sub User, may be privileged only to order
shipping and pay for shipping. A support account holder, such as a
person in an accounting role, may be privileged only to view
shipping purchase orders and to pay for orders, but not to book
shipments.
[0092] Continuing to refer to FIG. 3A at Block 335, the system 100
may be used to check for preapproval of the credit of the shipper.
At Block 340, the payment permissions of the shipper may be set by
the system 100 to allow payment on credit if, for example, and
without limitation, the shipper retains funds in a system account
that are sufficient to cover payment for a particular requested
freight service. Also for example, and without limitation, the
system 100 may be configured to allow payment on credit if the
shipper exhibits a good payment history. For shippers who do not
enjoy preapproved credit, the payment permissions of the shipper
may be set by the system 100 to allow credit card payment only
(Block 370). After payment permissions are set, the process 300 may
end at Block 375.
[0093] Referring now to FIG. 7, and continuing to refer to FIGS. 1
and 2A, a method aspect 700 for entering freight service request
information into the freight services marketplace system 100 will
now be discussed in detail. More specifically, the entry of the
freight service request 220 from the shipper client 110 will now be
discussed. The shipper may use a freight request creation interface
on the shipper client 110 to develop a freight service request and
to transmit load parameters for that offering through a network 107
to the web server's network interface 106. For example and without
limitation, the freight service request creation interface may be
in the form of a web-based application accessible through a web
browser on the shipper client 110. The processor 102 may route the
freight service request information to the data store 103.
[0094] From the beginning 705, the system 100 may receive from the
shipper a freight service request (Block 710). For example and
without limitation, a freight service request data entry interface
may be in the form of a web-based application accessible through a
web browser on the shipper client 110. The web browser within the
shipper client 110 may allow the shipper to submit load parameters
220 to the web server 101 which may, in turn, be written to the
data server 108.
[0095] For example, and without limitation, FIG. 8A illustrates one
embodiment of a system interface 801 to allow shipper creation of a
freight service request 220 of the LTL type. The system interface
801 may present displays for user entry of pickup location 802,
delivery location 803, and load characteristics 804 in keeping with
the LTL data entry method described above. A shown in the
illustration 801, an LTL may require entry of the physical
characteristics of the load 804, because such information may be
needed to plan for reservation of less than the total space
available in a freight asset (e.g., sharing of a truck).
[0096] For example, and without limitation, FIG. 8B illustrates one
embodiment of a system interface 811 to allow shipper creation of a
freight service request 220 of the FTL type. The system interface
811 may present displays for user entry of pickup location 812,
delivery location 813, and load characteristics 814 in keeping with
the FTL data entry method described above. A shown in the
illustration 811, an FTL may require entry of the capacity of the
freight asset 814, because the reservation may be for the entire
vehicle (e.g., truck).
Matching
[0097] Referring now to FIGS. 7, 9 and 10, and continuing to refer
to FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, a method aspect for matching the freight
service request of a shipper to the freight service offerings of
one or more carriers using the freight services marketplace system
100, according to an embodiment of the present invention, will now
be discussed. In the methods as illustrated herein, the matching
engine 104 executing on the processor 102 of the web server 101 may
operate on the data structures 130 that may be located in the data
store 103 of the data server 108. For example, and without
limitation, a shipper may use the shipper client 110, and one or
more carriers may use a respective carrier client 120, each to
interact with the web server 101. The following illustrative
embodiment is included to provide clarity for certain operational
methods that may be included within the scope of the present
invention. A person of skill in the art will appreciate additional
databases and operations that may be included within the freight
services marketplace system 100 of the present invention, which are
intended to be included herein and without limitation.
[0098] Referring again to FIG. 7 at Block 720, the matching engine
104 may parse the freight service request into discreet
requirements of the shipper. Each requirement may be expressed at
the level of abstraction of a fundamental load parameter that may
be compared against the service parameter(s) of a given freight
service offering. For example, and without limitation, the freight
service request may be parsed into discreet requirements 220 for
origin and destination, for size and weight, and for shipment
timing.
[0099] At Blocks 730, 740, and 750, the matching engine 104 may
compare each of the discrete requirements of the freight service
request to service parameters of freight service offerings entered
by carriers and/or retrieved from third-party freight service
information sources. As a result of this comparison process, the
matching engine 104 may use suitability criteria to reduce the full
set of stored freight service offerings to a smaller set of
available freight service offerings capable of satisfying each
requirement of the freight service request. Eliminating freight
service offerings from consideration based on suitability criteria
advantageously may promote carrier efficiency by reducing
information traffic upon which the carrier cannot act and,
therefore, has no need to receive.
[0100] More specifically, the matching engine 104 may identify one
or more freight shipping assets that, either individually or in
combination, meet all discreet requirements in the freight service
request. For example, and without limitation, the processor 102 may
retrieve information on a set of available assets (either staged
from the data store 103 or imported directly from third-party
information sources). The retrieved information may contain service
parameters for each asset in the set, including the lanes serviced
(Block 730), the spatial characteristics of the asset (Block 740),
and the scheduling of the asset (Block 750). Scheduling parameters
may include the available dates of that asset, the location of the
asset on the required dates, and the billable units for lease on
the asset on the required dates.
[0101] If no single asset nor combination of assets is found by the
matching engine 104 to satisfy the lane (Block 735), space (Block
745), nor schedule (Block 755) requirements of the original freight
service request, then the matching engine 104 may communicate to
the shipper (for example, through the browser on the shipper client
110) that no matching assets were found to deliver the requested
service (Block 737). In this eventuality, the shipper may be
allowed to revise her freight service request at Block 710.
[0102] At Block 760, the matching engine may assemble complementary
freight service offerings submitted by carriers through the use of
carrier client 120 into one or more compound service offerings for
the requested freight service. For purposes of definition, the term
"compound service offering" may refer to a consumer having the
ability to arrange and pay collectively for services received
related to a single freight transport event, rather than having to
schedule and pay separately for each event-related service
delivered by each of multiple providers of shipping assets,
personnel, and/or support services. To facilitate treatment of each
compound service offering as an individually marketed and managed
unit, the system 100 may generate a single, consolidated transit
time for the offering (Block 770) by adding the transit times of
the freight service offerings comprising the compound service
offering. Similarly, the system 100 may generate a single,
consolidated price for the offering (Block 775) by summing the
prices of the freight service offerings comprising the compound
service offering.
[0103] At Block 780, the compound service quotes may be viewed in
real-time by a shipper using the web browser of the shipper client
110. More specifically, the matching engine 104 may display a pick
list of combined service quotes that may be viewable from the web
browser of a shipper client 110. For example, and without
limitation, FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a system
interface 1001 to allow the shipper to select from a list of
marketed freight service offerings 210 that may meet the freight
service request 220 requirements of the shipper. The system
interface 1001 may display candidate carriers 1005 and freight
prices 1010 in keeping with the quoting method described above. The
system interface 1001 also may display an absolute pickup date 1020
and delivery date 1025 for each freight service offering, as
calculated from the pickup and delivery days of the week specified
during lane creation by the candidate carrier for each freight
service offering. A candidate carrier may be represented as a link
to multiple carriers 1015 who may collaborate to provide a combined
freight service offering.
[0104] The pick list of quotes from candidate carriers may be
active for a fixed period of time. Before this period of time has
ended, as monitored at Block 795 in FIG. 7, the shipper may have
the option of selecting one of the compound service quotes from the
pick list (Block 785). If a selection of a quote from the pick list
is detected by the matching engine 104 at Block 785, then the
method may proceed at Block 790 to the provisioning process
described in more detail below. At any time before the solicitation
period terminates (Block 795), the shipper may be allowed to revise
her freight service request at Block 710. Similarly, if the
solicitation is not terminated (Block 795) as a result of
successful completion of the provisioning process (Block 796), the
shipper may be allowed to revise her freight service request at
Block 710. However, if at Block 795 no quote for freight service is
selected by the shipper before the solicitation is terminated
(e.g., withdrawal by shipper, expiration of time period), then at
Block 797 the freight service request may be removed from active
solicitations by the web server 101 before the method ends at Block
799.
[0105] Referring now to FIG. 9 and beginning at Block 905, the
matching engine 104 may process the operations necessary to
provision a freight shipping service transaction 900, including,
but not limited to, processing of freight service reservations,
party notifications, and customer payments. At Block 910, the
system 100 may receive the compound freight service quote selected
by the shipper from the pick list. More specifically, the shipper
may use a browser to transmit acceptance of a bundled service quote
through a network 107 to the web server's network interface 106.
The dispatch engine 105 may transmit notification of bid acceptance
to the communication address provided in the carrier information
210. More specifically, this communication may notify the carrier
that his service offering has been chosen by a shipper to fulfill
some portion of the given freight service request 220. For example,
and without limitation, the notification may include a commission
invoice.
[0106] The matching engine 104 may process shipper payment for
freight services facilitated using the system 100. More
specifically, at Block 915, if the shipper is eligible to make
payment from a system-controlled credit account, then the system
100 may deduct the consolidated price of the compound service
offering selected by the shipper and deposit that amount into an
escrow account pending successful delivery of the freight service
(Block 920). Alternatively, or in addition, if the shipper is
eligible to make payment by credit card (Block 917), then the
system 100 may charge the card for the consolidated price of the
compound service offering selected and deposit that amount into an
escrow account (Block 980). If the system 100 cannot determine the
eligibility of the shipper to make payment (Blocks 915, 917), then
the provisioning process may end without depositing funds into
escrow and may prepare for termination of the solicitation (Block
999).
[0107] Although the process illustrated in FIG. 9 presumes escrow
of shipper payments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that
other payment processing models are within the scope and spirit of
the disclosed invention. For example, and without limitation, the
matching engine 104 may be configured to receive from each carrier
involved in a combined service offering confirmation of receipt of
direct payment from the shipper. Direct payments from the shipper
to the carrier(s) involved may cause the matching engine 104 to
await notice from the carrier(s) of receipt and processing of each
carrier's portion of the total payment before generating shipping
artifacts (Block 930).
[0108] After successful processing of shipper payment (either of
Blocks 920 and 980), the system may automatically generate
industry-standard shipping documents, such as order confirmations
and Bills of Lading for each freight service offering comprising
the selected compound service offering (Block 930). At Block 940,
the dispatch engine 105 may automatically compute a commission to
be paid, for example, and without limitation, by either or both of
the parties to the freight service transaction in return for
facilitation of the transaction by the freight services marketplace
system 100. The efficiencies introduced by the automation in the
present embodiment, and by the obviation of the need for broker
services, advantageously may result in administrative charges and
commission rates much lower than those demanded by traditional
freight brokerages.
[0109] At Block 950, the matching engine 104 may transmit
notification of shipper acceptance of the compound service quote to
the carrier(s) who must cooperate to deliver each freight service
offering comprising that compound service. More specifically, the
matching engine 104 may send freight request solicitations in the
form of email to carrier clients 120 to inform each carrier that he
is a suitable match to fulfill a requirement present in a given
freight service request. For example, and without limitation, the
solicitation may contain a hyperlink to a web page where the
carrier may view request details. Carriers who do not post freight
service offerings that match the selection criteria expressed as
freight request requirements may not be notified of the freight
request by the matching engine 104. Automatic, proactive filtering
of unwanted solicitations from other than qualified carriers
advantageously may obviate the need for carriers to review and
discard moot freight requests, and/or to perform time-consuming and
inefficient searches for service delivery opportunities.
[0110] After viewing the solicitation, the matching carriers may
decide whether to accept the booking of their respective freight
service offerings as part of the given freight service request
(Block 955). Specifically, a solicitation response interface may be
provided in the form of a web-based application accessible through
a web browser on the carrier client 120. A web browser within the
carrier client 120 may allow the carrier to submit an acceptance
using the solicitation response interface within web server
101.
[0111] If solicitations for all freight service offerings
comprising the compound service offering are accepted at Block 955,
then the system 100 may transmit confirmation of the reservation of
compound freight service offering to both the shipper and the
involved carrier(s) (Block 960). For example, and without
limitation, the confirmation may be communicated in the form of an
email containing dispatch information and contact details of the
other party. Confirmation of a reservation may signify termination
of a solicitation period for the associated freight service
request, causing the matching engine 104 to remove booked freight
service requests from postings available for sale (Block 970).
[0112] For example, and without limitation, while a freight service
is being provisioned as described above, the service parameter for
status of the freight service offering data structure 210 may be
updated using the system 100 to reflect milestones such as the
following:
[0113] Needs Confirmation/View Order--A shipper is purchasing some
of the shipping capacity
[0114] Confirmed--A carrier has accepted a purchase order for the
booked lane
[0115] Declined--A carrier has declined a purchase order for the
booked lane
[0116] Continuing to refer to FIG. 9, if the solicitation for any
one of the freight service offerings comprising the compound
service offering is rejected at Block 955 (for example, and without
limitation, the freight service offering status is set to
Declined), then the system 100 may allow the solicitation period
for the associated freight service request to remain active and may
prompt the shipper to revise the freight service request (Block
957) or, alternatively, to allow the termination of the
solicitation (Block 999). If acceptance of the compound service
offering booking is detected by the matching engine 104 at Block
955 (for example, and without limitation, the statuses for all
freight service offerings included in the compound service offering
are set to Confirmed), then the method may proceed to the dispatch
process (Block 977) described in more detail below.
Dispatch
[0117] Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, and continuing to refer to
FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, a method aspect for managing the dispatch of
the compound freight service using the freight services marketplace
system 100, according to an embodiment of the present invention,
will now be discussed. In the methods as illustrated herein, the
dispatch engine 105 executing on the processor 102 of the web
server 101 may operate on the data structures 130 that may be
located in the data store 103 of the data server 108. The following
illustrative embodiment is included to provide clarity for certain
operational methods that may be included within the scope of the
present invention. A person of skill in the art will appreciate
additional databases and operations that may be included within the
freight services marketplace system 100 of the present invention,
which are intended to be included herein and without
limitation.
[0118] Referring again to FIG. 11 at Block 1107, the dispatch
engine 104 may monitor the pickup schedule for reserved freight
service offerings. At some time prior to the pickup date of the
compound delivery service, the system 100 may transmit alert
messages to the shipper and/or to the carrier(s) involved in
delivery of the compound freight service (Block 1110). The alert
messages may prompt service initiation activity on the parts of the
parties to the freight transaction, thereby minimizing the
opportunity for human error that may jeopardize the start of the
shipment.
[0119] The system 100 may be configured to receive status updates
from carrier personnel as key milestones are achieved in
satisfaction of each freight service offering included in the
compound service offering (Block 1115). For example, and without
limitation, while a load is in transit, the service parameter for
status of the freight service offering data structure 210 may be
updated using the system 100 to reflect milestones such as the
following:
[0120] Dispatch Pick Up--A carrier must dispatch an asset to
collect the freight
[0121] Pick Up Dispatched--A carrier has dispatched a freight
asset
[0122] Pick Up Need Confirm--A carrier has dispatched a freight
asset and the pick up time has passed
[0123] Pick Up Confirmed--A carrier has picked up the load
[0124] Actual Pick Up--Recording of the time the freight was
collected
[0125] Dispatch Delivery--A carrier must dispatch an asset to
deliver the freight
[0126] Delivery Dispatched--A carrier has dispatched an asset
[0127] Delivery Need Confirm--A carrier has dispatched an asset and
the delivery time has passed
[0128] Actual Delivery--Recording of the time the freight was
delivered
[0129] Delivery Confirmed--Freight delivered
[0130] On Hold--Delay encountered
[0131] The system 100 may write each status change to the data
store 103 to compile a shipment history for subsequent analysis and
reporting purposes (Block 1120). Monitoring and recording of
milestones may continue throughout the delivery process until the
compound delivery service is complete (Block 1125). For example,
and without limitation, FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of a
system interface 1201 to allow the shipper to monitor the status
1205 of the booked freight service offering 220. The system
interface 1001 may display a record for each of multiple carriers
1210 who may collaborate to provide a combined freight service
offering.
[0132] Milestone and status tracking of shipping assets may be
accomplished not only for the asset with which the load may be
actively engaged, but also for downstream assets. For example, and
without limitation, at Block 1135 the system 100 may detect that a
freight service offering included in the compound service offering
underway may for some reason become unavailable (for example, the
status may be set to On Hold due to a delay caused by an accident
involving the asset, or by a double-booking error that may prevent
the carrier from honoring a commitment to provide an asset). In
such an eventuality, the system 100 may attempt to automatically
identify and reserve an alternative asset to replace the freight
service offering that has become unavailable to the compound
service offering already in progress (Block 1170). This re-planning
method of Block 1170 is described in more detail below.
[0133] In one embodiment, for example, and without limitation, the
dispatch engine 105 may employ traditional escrow rules by
monitoring for the completion of the freight service offering
provisioned using the system 100 (Block 1125). Upon completion of
each carrier's contractual obligation related to the subject
freight service, the dispatch engine 105 may automatically release
any escrowed funds piecemeal to the responsible carrier(s) at Block
1140. In another embodiment, for example, and without limitation,
the dispatch engine 105 may employ flow-through purchase escrow
rules (not shown) by transferring shipper payment to the involved
carriers upon the start of each freight service offering (as
monitored at Block 1115), less a deduction for commission in return
for facilitation of the freight service transaction by the freight
services marketplace system 100.
[0134] Continuing to refer to FIG. 11, the dispatch engine 105 may
feature a mechanism for receiving and recording shipper reviews for
one or more carrier(s) who contributed to the combined freight
service delivery (Block 1150). Referring additionally to FIG. 7,
the method may end at Block 1199, after which tracking of the
freight service request by the web server 101 may be cleared (at
Block 797) before the method ends at Block 799.
Re-planning
[0135] Referring now to FIG. 13, and continuing to refer to FIGS.
1, 2A, and 2B, a method aspect for managing in-transit freight
service re-planning using the freight services marketplace system
100, according to an embodiment of the present invention, will now
be discussed. The following illustrative embodiment is included to
provide clarity for certain operational methods that may be
included within the scope of the present invention. A person of
skill in the art will appreciate additional databases and
operations that may be included within the freight services
marketplace system 100 of the present invention, which are intended
to be included herein and without limitation.
[0136] Referring again to FIG. 13 beginning at Block 1305, the
dispatch engine 104 may respond to the detection of a freight
request requirement mismatch by automatically applying a matching
process to identify and reserve an alternative freight service
offering. The purpose of the alternative freight service offering
may be to replace an asset in the compound service offering that
has otherwise become unavailable. The re-planning process may be
similar to the matching process described above, with the exception
that much of the human-in-the-loop decision making may be omitted
(e.g., shipper selection from among several alternative freight
service offerings) as long as the original contractual terms of the
freight transaction (e.g., total price) are not violated.
[0137] Referring again to FIG. 13 at Block 1310, the matching
engine 104 may parse the unfulfilled requirements (referred to as
"gap" requirements) from the original freight service request into
discreet requirements. For example, and without limitation, the
freight service request 220 may be parsed into discreet
requirements for origin and destination, for size and weight, and
ship dates.
[0138] At Blocks 1320, 1330, and 1340, the matching engine 104 may
compare each of the gap requirements of the freight service request
to service parameters of freight service offerings entered by
carriers and/or retrieved from third-party freight service
information sources. As a result of this comparison process, the
matching engine 104 may use suitability criteria to reduce the full
set of stored freight service offerings to a smaller set of
available freight service offerings capable of satisfying the gap
requirement. For example, and without limitation, the processor 102
may retrieve information on available assets (either staged from
the data store 103 or directly from third-party information
sources) containing service parameters for each asset in the set,
including the lanes serviced (Block 1320), the spatial
characteristics of the asset (Block 1330), and the scheduling of
the asset (Block 1340).
[0139] If no single alternative asset nor combination of
alternative assets is found by the matching engine 104 to satisfy
the lane (Block 1325), space (Block 1335), nor schedule (Block
1345) gap requirements of the original freight service request,
then the matching engine 104 may communicate to the appropriate
parties (for example, to the shipper through the browser on the
shipper client 110) that automatic re-planning has failed (Block
1327) and that manual intervention may be needed to accomplish the
shipment already in progress (Block 1329). In this eventuality, the
shipper may be allowed to revise her freight service request (Block
1110).
[0140] At Block 1350, the matching engine may assemble
complementary freight service offerings submitted by carriers
through the use of carrier client 120 into one or more alternative
compound service offerings for the requested freight service. The
system 100 may generate a single, consolidated transit time for the
offering (Block 1357) by adding the transit times of the freight
service offerings comprising the alternative compound service
offering. Similarly, the system 100 may generate a single,
consolidated price for the offering (Block 1360) by summing the
prices of the freight service offerings comprising the alternative
compound service offering.
[0141] At Block 1367, the system 100 may automatically generate
industry-standard shipping artifacts, such as order confirmations
and Bills of Lading for the alternative freight service offering
that was newly added to the compound service offering already in
progress (Block 1360). Presuming the alternative freight service
offering may be added to the combined service offering already in
progress without violating the consolidated price and consolidated
transit time terms contractually agreed to by the shipper, then
proactive selection and/or approval of the alternative freight
service offering by the shipper may not be required.
[0142] At Block 1370, the dispatch engine 105 may automatically
compute a commission to be paid by the provider of the alternative
freight service offering in return for facilitation of the freight
service transaction by the freight services marketplace system 100.
At Block 1377, the matching engine 104 may transmit notification of
the alternative compound service quote to the carrier(s)
responsible for delivering the alternative freight service
offering. More specifically, the matching engine 104 may send
freight request solicitations in the form of email to carrier
clients 120 to inform each carrier that he is a suitable match to
fulfill the gap requirement present in a given freight service
request. For example, and without limitation, the solicitation may
contain a hyperlink to a web page where the carrier may view
request details.
[0143] After viewing the solicitation, the new carriers may decide
whether to accept the booking of their respective freight service
offerings as part of the alternative compound service offering
(Block 1385). Specifically, a solicitation response interface may
be provided in the form of a web-based application accessible
through a web browser on the carrier client 120. A web browser
within the carrier client 120 may allow the carrier to submit an
acceptance using the solicitation response interface within web
server 101.
[0144] If the solicitation for the alternative freight service
offering is accepted at Block 1385, then the system 100 may
transmit confirmation of the reservation of the alternative freight
service in keeping with the accepted booking to both the shipper
and the involved carrier(s) (Block 1390). For example, and without
limitation, the confirmation may be communicated in the form of an
email containing dispatch information and contact details of the
other party.
[0145] If the solicitation for the alternative freight service
offering is rejected at Block 1385, and no other candidate freight
service offerings meet the gap requirement(s), then the matching
engine 104 may communicate to the shipper (for example, through the
browser on the shipper client 110) that automatic re-planning has
failed (Block 1327) and that manual intervention may be needed to
accomplish the shipment already in progress (Block 1329).
Computing Environment
[0146] A skilled artisan will note that one or more of the aspects
of the present invention may be performed on a computing device.
The skilled artisan will also note that a computing device may be
understood to be any device having a processor, memory unit, input,
and output. This may include, but is not intended to be limited to,
cellular phones, smart phones, tablet computers, laptop computers,
desktop computers, personal digital assistants, etc. FIG. 14
illustrates a model computing device in the form of a computer 610,
which is capable of performing one or more computer-implemented
steps in practicing the method aspects of the present invention.
Components of the computer 610 may include, but are not limited to,
a processing unit 620, a system memory 630, and a system bus 621
that couples various system components including the system memory
to the processing unit 620. The system bus 621 may be any of
several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory
controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a
variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not
limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard
Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus,
Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association
(VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI).
[0147] The computer 610 may also include a cryptographic unit 625.
Briefly, the cryptographic unit 625 has a calculation function that
may be used to verify digital signatures, calculate hashes,
digitally sign hash values, and encrypt or decrypt data. The
cryptographic unit 625 may also have a protected memory for storing
keys and other secret data. In other embodiments, the functions of
the cryptographic unit may be instantiated in software and run via
the operating system.
[0148] A computer 610 typically includes a variety of computer
readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media
that can be accessed by a computer 610 and includes both volatile
and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of
example, and not limitation, computer readable media may include
computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage
media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and
non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for
storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data
structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media
includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, FLASH memory or
other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or
other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,
magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any
other medium which can be used to store the desired information and
which can be accessed by a computer 610. Communication media
typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures,
program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a
carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any
information delivery media. The term "modulated data signal" means
a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed
in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of
example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired
media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and
wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency, infrared and
other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also
be included within the scope of computer readable media.
[0149] The system memory 630 includes computer storage media in the
form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory
(ROM) 631 and random access memory (RAM) 632. A basic input/output
system 633 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to
transfer information between elements within computer 610, such as
during start-up, is typically stored in ROM 631. RAM 632 typically
contains data and/or program modules that are immediately
accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit
620. By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 14 illustrates an
operating system (OS) 634, application programs 635, other program
modules 636, and program data 637.
[0150] The computer 610 may also include other
removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage
media. By way of example only, FIG. 14 illustrates a hard disk
drive 641 that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatile
magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive 651 that reads from or writes
to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk 652, and an optical disk
drive 655 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile
optical disk 656 such as a CD ROM or other optical media. Other
removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage
media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment
include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash
memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid
state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like. The hard disk drive 641
is typically connected to the system bus 621 through a
non-removable memory interface such as interface 640, and magnetic
disk drive 651 and optical disk drive 655 are typically connected
to the system bus 621 by a removable memory interface, such as
interface 650.
[0151] The drives, and their associated computer storage media
discussed above and illustrated in FIG. 14, provide storage of
computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules
and other data for the computer 610. In FIG. 14, for example, hard
disk drive 641 is illustrated as storing an OS 644, application
programs 645, other program modules 646, and program data 647. Note
that these components can either be the same as or different from
OS 633, application programs 633, other program modules 636, and
program data 637. The OS 644, application programs 645, other
program modules 646, and program data 647 are given different
numbers here to illustrate that, at a minimum, they may be
different copies. A user may enter commands and information into
the computer 610 through input devices such as a keyboard 662 and
cursor control device 661, commonly referred to as a mouse,
trackball or touch pad. Other input devices (not shown) may include
a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the
like. These and other input devices are often connected to the
processing unit 620 through a user input interface 660 that is
coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface
and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a
universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 691 or other type of display
device is also connected to the system bus 621 via an interface,
such as a graphics controller 690. In addition to the monitor,
computers may also include other peripheral output devices such as
speakers 697 and printer 696, which may be connected through an
output peripheral interface 695.
[0152] The computer 610 may operate in a networked environment
using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as
a remote computer 680. The remote computer 680 may be a personal
computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other
common network node, and typically includes many or all of the
elements described above relative to the computer 610, although
only a memory storage device 681 has been illustrated in FIG. 14.
The logical connections depicted in FIG. 14 include a local area
network (LAN) 671 and a wide area network (WAN) 673, but may also
include other networks 140. Such networking environments are
commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks,
intranets and the Internet.
[0153] When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 610
is connected to the LAN 671 through a network interface or adapter
670. When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 610
typically includes a modem 672 or other means for establishing
communications over the WAN 673, such as the Internet. The modem
672, which may be internal or external, may be connected to the
system bus 621 via the user input interface 660, or other
appropriate mechanism. In a networked environment, program modules
depicted relative to the computer 610, or portions thereof, may be
stored in the remote memory storage device. By way of example, and
not limitation, FIG. 14 illustrates remote application programs 685
as residing on memory device 681.
[0154] The communications connections 670 and 672 allow the device
to communicate with other devices. The communications connections
670 and 672 are an example of communication media. The
communication media typically embodies computer readable
instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a
modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport
mechanism and includes any information delivery media. A "modulated
data signal" may be a signal that has one or more of its
characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode
information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,
communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or
direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,
infrared and other wireless media. Computer readable media may
include both storage media and communication media.
[0155] Some of the illustrative aspects of the present invention
may be advantageous in solving the problems herein described and
other problems not discussed which are discoverable by a skilled
artisan. While the above description contains much specificity,
these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any
embodiment, but as exemplifications of the presented embodiments
thereof. Many other ramifications and variations are possible
within the teachings of the various embodiments. While the
invention has been described with reference to exemplary
embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that
various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for
elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention.
In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular
situation or material to the teachings of the invention without
departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is
intended that the invention not be limited to the particular
embodiment disclosed as the best or only mode contemplated for
carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include
all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
Also, in the drawings and the description, there have been
disclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention and, although
specific terms may have been employed, they are unless otherwise
stated used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for
purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention therefore not
being so limited. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second,
etc. do not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms
first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element from
another. Furthermore, the use of the terms a, an, etc. do not
denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of
at least one of the referenced item.
[0156] Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention
will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit
of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the
associated drawings. The scope of the invention should be
determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, and
not by the examples given Therefore, it is understood that the
invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments
disclosed.
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